I recently received a Gothmog model as an early Christmas present, so I just had to build an army around him. I had thought of Gothmog before, but his high-point's cost always put me off. Still, it's undeniable that he is a deadly Orcish fighting machine, and also quite hard to kill. So, any Orc army that includes him is going to have to get him into combat as quickly as possible, where he can work his wrath. Put him on a Warg? Of course, as this makes him hit harder on the charge and knock down opponents, as well as extending the range of his Master of Battle and Stand Fast abilities. Shield? Yes. If I am spending so much on a model, I might as well throw a shield on him for extra protection against S4 heroes and S2 bows.

The first two warbands of my armies will be mainly there for stamina's sake. They will engage the enemy in melee and do their best to survive while Gothmog's warband tears up a flank. Each is led by a different Orc hero, with Grishnakh leading the first one and Gorbag leading the second (what is it with Orcs and "G" names, anyhow?) Each warband has 8 Orcs in it with a mix of shields, spears and two handed weapons, plus four Orcs with shields and spears for extra stamina. No bows, as archers are not very good fighters and I doubt that those pathetic Orc bows would make any difference in a game.

The third warband is led by Gothmog on his warg, along with two Warg Riders with shields and two with shields and throwing spears for hitting power. He is followed by four Morannon Orcs with shields, two with shields and spears, and two with spears for additional punch and stamina.

The fourth warband contains Khardush the Firecaller, mostly for his Fury spell, but also able to throw some fireballs as a dirty trick. Khardush commands an Orc Specter for even more dirty trickery.

The army will be deployed with the two Orc infantry warbands being placed first, and Gothmog's warband being placed last so that it has the greatest chance of opening the game with a charge into an enemy flank. Khardush and specter will back up Gothmog, using his flameburst spell to eliminate supporting units such as spears or banners that might hinder Gothmog killing everyone in sight, or to be even dirtier, wounding an enemy hero who is in melee with Gothmog. The specter can do the same for removing models or can drag an enemy model forward so that Gothmog and his warg riders can heroically mug that model and then use the momentum to charge the main body of the enemy.

This army begins the game with 10 points of Might, and will undoubtedly get more free Heroic moves through Master of Battle, so it won't lack for heroic actions.

Small force for crappy orcs, but you don't have much of a choice when dealing with pricey heroes. Kardush has been Errata'd so he now has only one attack and two wounds. Basically a normal shaman with a different set of spellls.

Thanks! That was a very good FAQ. I don't get to kill 'orses in Lords of Battle anymore, which is just as well. Also, it is interesting that the models leaving the table on Reconnoitre don't count for one side being reduced to 25%. That makes the game a little more strategic, I think. Also, Amdur does not count as a banner for To the Death? Argh! Well, that's OK, as my mighty Easterling force has an actual banner in it, anyhow.

Yes, Gothmog is expensive. I looked at the army list last night and realized that my three Orc warbands cost more than my three Easterling warbands, leaving me fewer points for the fourth Orc warband. Ah well, the army should fight nice and dirty anyhow, and Gothmog doesn't really need to be followed by a banner.